A fan favourite from years past helped pave the way for Lawrence Wright’s arrival in Halifax.

The six-foot-four small forward, the second-leading scorer in the National Basketball League of Canada, spent his collegiate career with the Bradley Braves playing alongside shooting guard Tony Bennett, who starred with the Rainmen in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

In the hunt for a job this summer, Wright and his agent contacted Rainmen owner Andre Levingston, who dialled up Bennett for a reference on his former teammate.

"I think Mr. Levingston called Tony and asked him how I was and did his research or whatever so that’s kinda how I ended up here," Wright said Wednesday after practice.

The 27-year-old, who had a brief stopover in Halifax in 2007, also sought Bennett’s input about Nova Scotia’s capital city.

"Tony let me know how the place was because, I mean, I was here years and years ago but I wasn’t here for that long so I really didn’t know anything. I didn’t know about the team or anything here."

Wright spent two years at Bradley in Peoria, Ill., before signing on with the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters, for which past Rainmen like SirValiant Brown, A.J. Millien, Jimmy Twyman, Shagari Alleyne, Gordon Malone and Terrance Roberson also played earlier in their careers.

He made his first visit to Halifax when the Globetrotters performed at the Metro Centre in April 2007 during a hectic 2006-07 season in which Wright estimates he played 250 to 300 games.

The native of Wichita, Kan., grew accustomed to globetrotting as a youngster. His father is a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and their family moved frequently before settling down on an air force base near Sacramento, Calif., when Wright was about eight years old.

The former track and field star in high school and junior college went on to play professionally in Bosnia, Egypt and Finland before landing this year in Halifax.

Wright stands second in the NBL scoring parade, averaging 19.75 points per game in four contests to put him just one basket off the pace of Saint John Mill Rats star point guard Anthony Anderson (20.0 ppg).

He has yet to start a game but has logged 30.5 minutes coming off the bench and is second on the Rainmen with 7.0 rebounds per outing. He’s also second in the NBL in three-point shooting efficiency and third in overall field goal percentage.

He drained 29 points, tops in the league so far, in Halifax’s opener against the London Lightning on Nov. 3 and scorched the Moncton Miracles for 26 points a week ago, sinking 11 of his 13 shots, including four of five from beyond the arc.

Wright said he hasn’t come off the bench since his days at Bradley, when he was named to the conference all-bench team in his junior season and also spent a portion of his senior campaign as a reserve.

"I have no problem coming off the bench or starting," he said. "I just try to go in and play as hard as I can. I don’t really mind how I play as long as I get to play."

Offence comes naturally to Wright, who averaged 17.7 points and 7.3 rebounds last season in Finland. But he admits being among the league’s top point producers is somewhat unexpected given Halifax’s balanced attack.

"My main goal since I’ve been playing is to be a scorer, so I’m kinda used to scoring but with all the talent we have and all the stars we have on our team, you never know what’s gonna happen because any night, any guy on our team can have 20, 30 points."

RAINMEN THIS WEEK:

FRIDAYSaint John at Halifax, 7 p.m.

HALIFAX (2-2): The Rain­men are seeking their third straight win. . . . Eddie Rob­inson (hamstring) practised Tuesday and Wednesday and is close to returning. The team will have to make a cut to activate him off injured reserve. . . . Although Halifax is often employing a small lineup, the team leads the NBL with 53.8 rebounds per game. Eric Crookshank is third overall with 10.7 rpg.

SAINT JOHN (2-3): The Mill Rats, playing tonight in Sum­merside, have also won two in a row, including a big victory in London on Sunday in which they handed the Light­ning their first